He exchanged a brief look with Rose.

“Blake!” they said in unison.

36

Blake had landed on a balcony on the second floor. Oddly enough, he hadn’t fallen too hard—a mattress had cushioned his fall from the third floor. As if somebody had planned it that way. But he’d hit his head on the railing, and it had knocked him out briefly. Why he’d jumped in the first place, he had no idea. But the urge had suddenly overtaken him, and he hadn’t been able to stop himself.

Not that it mattered right now: he wasn’t any better off than in that room with Keegan and his vampire friends. Because one of those fucking vampires had just joined him on the balcony.

With extended fangs and claws instead of fingers, the menacing creature stalked toward him, his hulky body blocking the door to the room behind. Shrieks and screams from within the room accompanied his approach.

The vampire bared his fangs, pulling his mouth into an ugly grimace.

Fuck, he was so done with this crap!

“Fuck off!” he yelled.

The fear he’d previously felt when confronted with vampires, had made way for frustration. If only he were as strong and fast as them, he’d show those bloodsuckers where they could stick their fangs. He’d seen how fast they moved, and how strong they were, and hell, if he wasn’t a tiny bit envious of those skills. Okay, he could admit it: a lot.

However, that wouldn’t get him out of this situation right now.

Casting a quick glance down to the ground, he realized that jumping wouldn’t be wise. Metal debris lay on the ground beneath, and if he jumped, he would most likely be impaled by one of the spiky metal rods that stuck out from the hovel of junk.

“Gotcha, boy,” the vampire growled.

“Not yet,” Blake retorted, gripped the railing behind him and hoisted himself up, kicking his legs into the aggressor’s torso in the process.

The vampire tumbled back, but instantly caught himself, pushing away from the doorframe in the next instant. It appeared the attempt at tossing him on his ass had angered him, because his eyes now glared red.

The thug pulled a knife and charged him.

“Shit!”

Lunging to the left, Blake barely escaped him, but was now wedged against the corner of the balcony with nowhere else to go.

An evil grin swept over his opponent’s face as he took a step toward him. But he didn’t get far.

From above, somebody jumped onto the balcony, landing in front of the vampire. As Blake’s eyes adjusted, he recognized Rose. Her knee came up and kicked the bastard in the nuts before he could even react.

As Rose jumped to the side, avoiding the toppling vampire, Quinn landed right behind him. He too, had jumped from the third floor. A stake in his right hand, he lifted it and aimed, but the hostile vampire fell forward, his hand extended, still clutching the knife.

His eyes glared at Blake, who had nowhere else to go.

“Fuck you!” the vampire ground out.

In obvious agony, he drove his knife into Blake’s side. The piercing pain was paralyzing, so much so that he barely noticed how his attacker disintegrated into dust as Quinn staked him from behind.

Dizziness overwhelmed him and he swayed. His hand went to the wound, his look following in the same direction, pain radiating through his body.

Shit, he was going to die!

“Oh, God, no!” he heard Rose scream and catch him as he fell.

Her arms around him felt comforting, and for the first time since finding out about vampires, Blake felt oddly safe.

“Quinn, do something, he’s hurt!”

The panic in Rose’s voice was undeniable, and despite the pain he was in, Blake tried to put a smile on his lips. “You are really my grandmother, aren’t you?”

“Of course, I am.”

Quinn crouched down next to her and examined the wound. When he pried Blake’s hand from it, Blake let out a helpless cry.

“I’m sorry, son, but I need to see how deep it is.”

His hands were gentler than he would have expected from a vampire, and Quinn made no attempt to drink the blood that was so freely oozing from the wound. Maybe not all vampires went crazy at the smell of human blood.

Rose stroked over his hair, diverting his attention from Quinn for a moment. When another bolt of pain racked his body, he closed his eyes, trying to breathe through the pain, but it didn’t go away.

“I’m dying, aren’t I?”

He looked at Rose who cast a scared glance at Quinn.

“You’ll have to turn me into a vampire too, so I won’t die, won’t you?” he asked. Well, if that was what needed to be done, he was ready for it. Rose and Quinn would take care of him. They were his family after all.